Mingxi always felt that Nino Abby gave her a very strong sense of tearing, as if beneath her cold and strong exterior ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) was a heart riddled with holes, a fragile and desperate soul.

It was a painful sight to behold.

And a little sickening.

Mingxi had no intention of saving others, but she really disliked this feeling.

She couldn't help it, not even a little.

Nino paused, then abruptly looked at Mingxi.

The other party's words were like long, thin needles, accurately piercing the most secret corners of her heart.

Her lips moved, wanting to retort, but she found herself speechless.

The intertwined shame of being seen through and the indignation of being 'lectured' ultimately transformed into a cold snort, as she formed hand seals and summoned the pet beast for the second round.

"What do you know?! You know nothing!"

"Yanwan! Defeat them!"

"Prison!"

A flash of light, and a scorching, heavy aura instantly permeated the air!

Appearing on the field was not a traditional bird or beast, but a uniquely shaped Transcendent creature!

Its size was not enormous, but its physique was robust.

Its entire body was covered in dark red, hardened scales like cooled lava, and sharp, obsidian-like spikes protruded from its back.

Its four limbs were thick, its sharp claws dug deep into the ground, and its tail was heavy and powerful, with an unquenchable dark red flame burning at its tip.

The most peculiar thing was its head; it had no external ears, and its eyes were like two molten amber gems, flickering with ancient and violent light.

Its snout was short, and when it opened its mouth, it revealed a scorching interior like magma from the earth's core, rather than ordinary teeth.

The Prison Flame Dragon Lizard, a dual-type Transcendent creature of Fire and Ground, Venerable-level!

Mingxi was somewhat taken aback, not expecting Nino to send out the Prison Flame Dragon Lizard in the second round.

This pet beast had always been her trump card, her finale, and the key that allowed her to repeatedly overcome enemies despite her obvious character flaws.

The Prison Flame Dragon Lizard was extremely rare, believed to be a descendant of dragon beasts that survived in ancient underground lava rivers, possessing dual powers of manipulating earth and flames.

It was said that this pet beast was not chosen for Nino by her parents' family, but rather, when Nino was a teenager, during a school outing, she was unfortunately caught in a suddenly opened secret realm rift. At that time, she had not yet awakened and barely survived in the secret realm.

She almost died.

When she was rescued by Beast Tamers, she had severe burns all over her body, not a single piece of good skin, but she completed her first awakening and inexplicably contracted the Yan Rock Lizard, which was still a pet beast egg at the time.

Not only that, but after appraisal by the local Yushou Center, it was confirmed that she had activated a fire-affinity physique, and her affinity was extremely high.

Everyone speculated that it was precisely because of her extremely high fire affinity that she was able to complete the contract with the Yan Rock Lizard without a Spiritual Contract Platform.

Of course, this must also be related to the Yan Rock Lizard.

And this Yan Rock Lizard was indeed extraordinary.

It was reported that shortly after hatching, it could easily defeat a Water Profound Tortoise one level higher than itself. In less than half a year, it rose to the Intermediate Level, and in a year and a half, it reached the Advanced Level, never losing a single battle when fighting above its level.

At that time, Nino Abby could almost rival the current Mingxi, receiving countless admirers.

But for some unknown reason, she quickly faded into obscurity, like an ephemera that briefly appeared.

Returning to the Prison Flame Dragon Lizard, this pet beast, like other fire-type Transcendent creatures, had a volatile and irritable personality, but due to Nino's fire-affinity physique, it was extremely loyal to its Beast Tamers, and the bond between them was very deep.

Furthermore, the Prison Flame Dragon Lizard had extremely high physical defense, while its special defense was slightly weaker.

Its movement speed was not fast, but its short-distance burst and charge ability was extremely strong.

Also, even without using energy, it could trigger small-scale Earthquakes and lava eruptions.

The obsidian spikes on its back could store and reflect flame energy, and the flame on its tail was a symbol of its vitality and emotions.

"Prison!!"

The Prison Flame Dragon Lizard let out a low roar like an Earthquake, and the scorching heat instantly withered the stone platform at the edge of the arena.

Its amber eyes locked onto the small Black Pearl in the air, carrying a sense of oppression from deep within the earth.

Mingxi's eyes narrowed, feeling a completely different kind of pressure.

"Black Pearl, this time you'll have to fight with all your might."

A King-level facing a Venerable-level—Black Pearl had never encountered a challenge of this magnitude.

Black Pearl looked at the fire lizard not far away.

ʵ ( ⓛ – ⓛ ) ʔ

Mingxi ordered without hesitation: "Curse!"

That's right, she was just that kind of unscrupulous person.

Dislike it or not, the dirty tricks still had to be used.

A ghostly light reappeared in Black Pearl's eyes, and that ominous energy once again targeted the massive Prison Flame Dragon Lizard.

Nino's face almost reflexively turned pale, and her fingers tightened.

But this time, she didn't lose her composure too much.

Mingxi's words just now were like a basin of cold water; although they made her uncomfortable, they also forced her to calm down somewhat.

She took a deep breath, firmly suppressing the physiological aversion and anxiety towards the word "Curse" back into her heart.

"I can't be affected... Mingxi, that Xiao Guniang, is right, people who are easily swayed by emotions are not fit to be excellent Beast Tamers. Curse is just a skill, it shouldn't be a cage to trap it!"

She continuously gave herself psychological counseling.

She absolutely couldn't fall in the top sixteen!

"Yanwan, Stomp!"

Nino's voice carried a suppressed steadiness; if anyone paid attention, they would notice her tone was more powerful.

The Prison Flame Dragon Lizard's thick hind legs suddenly lifted, then heavily stomped on the ground!

"Boom!!!"

The entire arena vibrated violently!

A shockwave comparable to a small Earthquake spread out from it, cracking the ground and sending gravel splash (flying gravel splash).

This was not just an attack, but a powerful interference with the environment!

Black Pearl, floating in mid-air and releasing Curse, was affected by this sudden tremor, her figure swayed, and the casting of Curse was actually interrupted!

Ghost-type energy dissipated and vanished in the air.

Nino Abby temporarily told the arena sister, Xie An Yan, who slowly began to speak: "Using the area-of-effect and vibration of the Ground-type skill, she interfered with the Curse that Atonas needed to concentrate on casting. Player Nino handled it very well."

Britney: "..."

As if sensing her speechlessness, Xie An Yan flashed her a smile.

This is called—

Walking someone else's old path, leaving them no path to take.

A gleam of light flashed in Nino's eyes, "Quicksand Abyss."

The Prison Flame Dragon Lizard stomped its foot again, and the ground beneath Black Pearl instantly softened and spun, turning into a huge, scorching quicksand vortex. A powerful suction tried to drag Black Pearl down from the air.

"Water Imprint." Mingxi said urgently.

Water light flowed around Black Pearl's body, trying to escape the quicksand's range with extreme agility, but the suction was extremely strong, and faint firelight flickered in the quicksand, indicating an extremely high temperature!

It was as if it had fallen into a scorching, gravitational mire, making movement exceptionally difficult.

"Rock Tomb."

Nino pressed the attack, completely controlling the rhythm.

The Prison Flame Dragon Lizard roared, and Ground-type energy gathered around its body. Several huge, flame-burning rocks appeared out of thin air, smashing down from different directions onto Black Pearl, who was trapped within the quicksand's suction!

All dodging space was sealed off!

"Volume Water." Mingxi immediately said.

Black Pearl struggled to maintain its balance, desperately creating a swirling water vortex to try and resist.

But this time, it was facing a Prison Flame Dragon Lizard two major levels higher than itself. The flame rocks were immensely powerful, and there was also a type advantage.

Coupled with the quicksand's interference, the strength of the Volume Water vortex was clearly insufficient.

"Bang bang bang!"

Several rocks smashed through the water curtain. Although their power was weakened, they still had enough force to hit Black Pearl!

"Aas!"

Black Pearl cried out in pain, thrown off balance, with several scorched wounds on its body, its aura instantly weakened considerably.

The disparity in level, combined with the opponent's exquisite skill usage, put it at an absolute disadvantage.

"Hold on."

Mingxi wasn't too distressed; getting injured on the competition stage was inevitable. No matter how much she doted on Black Pearl normally, her emotions wouldn't be affected on the battle stage.

"Prison!"

The Prison Flame Dragon Lizard pressed forward, each step making the ground tremble.

Nino's eyes were sharp, without a hint of mercy: "Power of the Earth!"

The Prison Flame Dragon Lizard slammed its front paw onto the ground, and a violent surge of Earth energy erupted from beneath the earth, transforming into a scorching lava Impact wave that shot directly at the tottering Black Pearl in the air!

This was a fatal blow!

A gasp rose from the audience!

Everyone could see that Atonas was powerless to resist!

Facing an opponent with such a huge level disparity, in their eyes, Atonas had no chance of winning to begin with.

Only Mingxi and Black Pearl did not give up; they were never people or pet beasts who would easily give up.

Mingxi's eyes flashed with determination: "Water Fusion, integrate into the quicksand!"

Everyone was stunned.

Water Fusion could be used like that?

The quicksand was created by the opponent, and it was filled with violent Ground-type and Fire-type energy; integrating into it was extremely dangerous!

But Black Pearl didn't hesitate for a moment; it had absolute trust in Mingxi.

Facing the surging Power of the Earth, its body instantly liquefied, and with a "poof," it voluntarily plunged into the scorching quicksand below!

The Power of the Earth surged past, hitting nothing!

"What?!"

Nino was stunned. Integrating into the environment created by Yanwan's skill—wasn't that seeking death?

The energy in that quicksand was enough to burn or even annihilate Atonas!

What on earth was Mingxi thinking? How could she use such a tactic that harmed herself more than the enemy?

Was she trying to use damage absorption feedback?

Whatever the reason, there must be something fishy!

"Sense it! Force it out!" Nino immediately ordered.

The Prison Flame Dragon Lizard's amber eyes stared intently at the quicksand vortex. It could feel a faint Water-type energy struggling to move through the quicksand, like swimming in lava, enduring immense pain and consumption every second!

"Increase the firepower! Smokescreen!"

Nino gave the cold order.

She wouldn't give the opponent any chance to breathe!

The Prison Flame Dragon Lizard roared, spewing out large amounts of dense, scalding black smoke from its mouth, nostrils, and the spikes on its back, pouring it into the quicksand!

The entire quicksand area became a high-temperature, high-pressure furnace!

Mingxi frowned, "No! Black Pearl won't be able to hold on like this!"

"Boiling Burst!"

Black Pearl, integrated into the quicksand's heatwave, released its energy without hesitation.

After a moment of silence, it was as if the flames and quicksand were swallowed by water.

The Flame Quicksand emitted a dazzling white light, followed by a muffled roar.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The internal Impact blasted the Flame Quicksand into scattered sparks and scalding white steam.

The Prison Flame Dragon Lizard's body was covered in the boiling steam, emitting a piercing 'sizzle' sound, and the dark red scales on its body even showed signs of melting.

Boiling Burst was actually a transformed application of the Water Burst skill.

The principle was to shoot a high-speed, high-pressure, low-temperature water bullet, directly penetrating the exterior of the flame and hitting its core high-temperature source.

For example, a core of fire energy, or a pile of scorching quicksand, the low-temperature water would instantly be heated in an extremely high-temperature environment (far exceeding 100℃).

Its volume would rapidly expand by nearly 1700 times, turning into water vapor.

This violent phase change process would generate immense pressure in a very short time.

Since the water was heated 'inside' the flame, this enormous pressure had nowhere to release, thus causing a violent steam explosion from the inside out, completely tearing apart the flame structure.

Thus, a violent explosion was formed.

However, to transform Water Burst into Boiling Burst, the prerequisite was that it needed to be done from within the flame energy, otherwise, it would be almost impossible to succeed.

Of course, it might also be that the practice was not enough!

Moreover, Boiling Burst also caused considerable damage to Black Pearl itself.

At this moment, all the quicksand in the entire arena had exploded, scorching the Prison Flame Dragon Lizard with wounds, while Black Pearl, covered in red and white steam and with several scorched scales, rushed out.

It simultaneously activated vast water vapor, dispelling the lingering smoke on its body and lowering its body temperature.

But it also looked considerably weaker, its body trembling slightly.

"Blaze Spatter!"

Although Nino didn't know how Atonas managed to detonate energy from within the quicksand, being mentally prepared, she could somewhat accept this 'unexpected situation'.

She quickly adjusted her tactics.

The Prison Flame Dragon Lizard opened its mouth, and countless small but extremely hot sparks sprayed out like buckshot, covering a large area of airspace.

Black Pearl struggled to dodge, but was still hit by several sparks, adding new wounds to its body, almost losing its balance.

Mingxi saw that Black Pearl's eyes, which always carried a hint of daintiness and curiosity, were now filled with indomitable spirit and the flames of battle!

Even when facing a powerful opponent, it never thought of giving up!

Her poor Fish Baby had also grown into the form it had hoped for.

"Aas!"

Black Pearl let out an unprecedentedly high-pitched cry, its voice ethereal and tragic, carrying a sense of resolve!

The Water-type and Ghost-type energy around its body began to surge wildly.

It was no longer its usual dark and profound, but became dazzling, pure, and powerful!

Its body erupted with a blinding blue-black light!

"This is...?"

Nino watched this scene in shock.

"Evolved?! No, no, it's a unique evolution!"

Mingxi was startled; she also hadn't expected Black Pearl to undergo a unique evolution during the match.

Under everyone's incredulous gazes, Black Pearl's figure elongated and transformed within the light!

A pearl like a dark night star appeared on its forehead.

Its tail became longer and more powerful, and the water flowing around its body transformed into tangible dark silk, its Ghost-type aura so dense it almost materialized into a domain!